Electronics manufacturing giant Vedanta on July 10 announced it was pulling out of the tie-up with the Anil Agrawal-led Vedanta Ltd for the chip joint venture in India.
"In order to explore more diverse development opportunities, according to mutual agreement, Foxconn has determined it will not move forward on the joint venture with Vedanta," the Taiwanese company said in a statement.
Foxconn added that it is working towards removing its name from the JV, which is now is a fully-owned entity of Vedanta. "Foxconn has no connection to the entity and efforts to keep its original name will cause confusion for future stakeholders," it stated.
Here's a timeline of Foxconn exploring the tie-up with Vedanta:
- February 2022: Foxconn partners with Vedanta to make semiconductors in India in a bid to diversify its business. Foxconn said it will be "a significant boost to domestic manufacturing of electronics in India".
- September 2022: Foxconn and Vedanta signed a pact to invest $19.5 billion to set up semiconductor and display production plants in the western state of Gujarat, seeking to tap into the country's plans to become an electronics major.
- November 2022: Anil Agarwal said production at the proposed semiconductor and display manufacturing unit in Gujarat will start within two-and-a half years of the groundbreaking ceremony. The announcement assumed significance as semiconductor chips, used in cars, mobile phones and other electronics devices, are not manufactured in India at present.
- December 2022: The Ministry of Electronics and IT officially announced that Vedanta and Foxconn are joint applicants under the incentivised-scheme for setting up of semiconductor fabs in India. After considering the options in Maharashtra, Telangana and Gujarat, "the applicants in their final submissions have informed that they had decided Dholera Industrial City, Gujarat as final location for their proposal", a statement noted.
- February 4: Vedanta and Foxconn, who were yet to find technology partner for their semiconductor JV in India, were close to tie up with European chipmaker STMicroelectronics, reports had said.
May 31: Bloomberg News reported that the government is likely to deny incentives to the JV under the PLI scheme, as Vedanta and Foxconn were reportedly yet to find a technology partner to make 28-nanometer chips.
June 27: Vedanta and Foxconn submitted a revised application, seeking government funding for the manufacturing of 40-nanometer chips instead of 28-nanomter chips, CNBC TV-18 reported.
June 30: The SEBI imposed a penalty of Rs 30 lakh on Vedanta for issuing a press release in September last year that said it has signed MoUs with the government of Gujarat to set up semiconductor and display fab units. The fine was slapped for making a false representation, as it was later clarified to the exchanges that the proposed business would not be undertaken by Vedanta, but by Volcan Investments, which is its ultimate holding entity.
July 7: Vedanta announced it would be taking over Twin Star Technologies, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Volcan Investments which had undertaken the semiconductor business in India. This acquisition will allow Vedanta to take over the ownership of the JV with Foxconn from its holding company.
The decision to discontinue the semiconductor business with Vedanta was confirmed by Foxconn after the market hours on July 10. Vedanta's scrip, before the announcement, had settled at Rs 282.25 on the BSE, which was 0.59 percent higher as against the last closing price.
With inputs from agencies
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